On September 14, 1862, Robert E. Lee's opportunistic first invasion of the North was turned back at the gaps of South Mountain near Boonsboro, Maryland. The fighting was desperate and for the numbers engaged rather bloody. It has become just a footnote in history, but it was here that the Confederacy reached it's high tide.

South Mountain by Rick Reeve

South Mountain by Rick Reeve depicting the wounding of General Garland

Friday, June 17, 2011

The following is a quote that was recently found by my former colleague and Maryland Park Service Historical Interpreter John Miller. It comes from George E. Fahm who had enlisted as a private in Company E ,"Thomas County Rangers", of the 50th Georgia Infantry in March 1862. He would be appointed 3rd Sergeant in early August 1862 and he would be promoted to 2nd Sergeant in October 1862. In April of 1863, he would be elected the junior 2nd lieutenant of the company and he would be promoted to captain in 1864. He would continue fighting with the regiment until he was captured during the retreat following the fall of Richmond and Petersburg in April 1865 and he would be held at Johnson's Island until June 18, 1865. During the course of his service he was wounded twice; at Sharpsburg in September 1862 and Chancellorsville in May 1863. This quote describes the carnage of the fighting in the Old Sharpsburg Road during the afternoon Union assault that swirled around the Daniel Wise cabin.

A big thanks goes out to John for sharing this quote with me.

"Company E was composed of sixty-five effective men, and of this company thirty-three were killed in the line of battle and twenty-seven were wounded. Five were all who came out unhurt. Seven of the eight color bearers, four on each side of the flag, or colors of the regiment, in that fearful battle, seven of these eight men were killed where they stood; the eighth man was wounded; the flag, flag-staff, clothing, cap and blanket of the color bearer (myself) showed thirty-two bullet holes, and yet most strangely to relate, I did not receive a scratch in that battle. Surely God was with me in that fearful struggle.”

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Above is a photo of Allan Ogborn from the 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Born in March 1840 Ogborn enlisted as a private in Company B, the "Richmond City Greys", in Wayne County, Indiana in July 1861. He is pictured here as corporal in late 1861. He would fight with the 19th in the battles of the late summer and fall of 1862, including South Mountain where the 19th Indiana assailed the right of Alfred Colquitt's confederate brigade. He would survive the fighting on the mountain. He would be promoted to sergeant and serve in this capacity until Gettysburg. At Gettysburg, he would receive a mortal wound on July 1st during the Iron Brigade's epic stand on McPherson's Ridge. He would be transported from the battlefield to a hospital in Philadelphia where he would pass away on July 18, 1863. His body was returned home to Wayne County where he is buried at the Sugar Grove Cemetery.

About Me

I am a student of the Civil War. I've had an interest in studying this conflict since I was ten and my passion for it has just grown ever since. I want to bring to life the stories of those men who fought and bled so that this nation could experience a "new birth of freedom". I am a former NPS intern at South Mountain State Battlefield and also a former Historical Intepreter at Fort Frederick State Park.